Borrowed (tidam)

5

The dinner was stiff.

The next morning was the most awkward thing he ever had to endure.

And even weeks later, Adam couldn't bring himself to forget the man with the deep, deep voice and the shiny ring.

Well, in this case, Adam didn't actively try to lose the memory of one Tim Foust. After all, it was hard to forget someone when you keep stealing from their father to get yourself and your brother something to eat.

Five weeks passed after Adam had made a fool of himself in a store he thought he would never visit again. 

And then Chris dragged him in said store, not to apologize, but because he found out they sold instant ramen the cheapest. However, because the man behind the counter recognized Adam, he had to stay outside and wait for his brother.

It could've been funny if he hadn't felt like a dog because Chris once again took the keys from him and Adam had nowhere else to go.

Bored out of his mind, Adam walked in circles in front of the store until he noticed he could read the headlines of the newspaper through the glass window. 

' Regan Foust robbed of his most expensive piece of jewelry. When will the police find this master thief? '

Adam smiled to himself. He shouldn't be, he knew that, but somehow he couldn't help himself. Foust Senior had so many useless things Adam could take from him and sell and just because he did that the press called him a master thief. Weirdly enough, the police didn't expect him to be that thief, simply because they had seen him fail at stealing little things too often.

Soon, Adam had read every headline he could see from his spot outside and he quickly grew bored again.

Just what Chris was doing so long in there, Adam didn't know.

He walked a few small circles and watched the door slide open and shut every time he passed until the guy behind the counter shouted at him to stop that.

Instead, Adam began to play with the tiny marble tiger he had found in his pocket. (He didn't know he 'owned' such a nice thingy.)

After what felt like an hour, Adam had fallen into a state of  apathetic staring at the tiger figure and just when he had concluded that he liked big cats, he heard a voice behind himself.

"Now that's a surprise!" The voice was too deep to belong to Chris, well that and he knew his brother's voice like his own. But still the voice sounded familiar and when Adam turned around he was greeted by the wide smile of one Tim Foust (and another guy, Adam didn't care for).

"Hello?" Adam tried, but accidentally swallowed half of the word. There was this man again and he was just as confusing to Adam than he had been before. But he wasn't making him uncomfortable anymore.

In fact, Adam had spent a lot of time thinking about what had happened between him and Tim and he came to the conclusion that he didn't want the ring anymore. That and that he wouldn't mind Tim thinking he was a (Chris had used a bad word for this) again just so he could get another kiss.

Chris had also explained to Adam what exactly that was what he had felt after Tim had pressed their lips together.
The problem was that Adam wasn't dumb, not at all, but he was book-smart and somehow very few people wrote very few cheap books about the things Adam didn't know.

"Somebody up there?" The young man next to Tim asked and it was then that Adam realized he had been drifting off to somewhere else.

When Adam nodded both men seemed pleased.

"Austin, this is Adam, the one I've been telling you about," Tim said and he stepped closer to clap Adam on the back like they were old friends. 

"Aw man, you're right! He is super cute, but who the hell wears trenchcoats anymore?"  Austin asked and before Adam could reply Tim chimed in on their not-conversation.

"Asked the guy that wears purple skinny jeans."

While Tim chuckled softly and Austin laughed out loud, Adam was just hopelessly confused.

How long had Chris been in there already, he asked himself as he grew more and more uncomfortable with the friendly attitudes the other men presented. People rarely were this friendly to him, not even Officer Atwood, who he had known for years, was that nice to him.

A small smile crept over Adam's face and maybe it was because Tim had remembered him or maybe it was because these guys didn't treat him like trash, but it made him feel good.

He was confused and slightly uncomfortable because this was new, but somehow it was good. Just like Something else Tim had shown him.

"True," Adam said and for a moment, both men were silent until they burst out laughing again. He didn't quite understand them, but he didn't mind, after all, he was aware that his people skills were rusty.

"Oh, that reminds me," Tim said, just as Adam had grown comfortable with the cheerful happenings. Tim searched the pockets of his jacket for a second before he found it and presented it to Adam.

'It' in this case described the one shiny ring Adam had tried to steal from Tim weeks ago while he was still having it on his finger. Looking at it now, Adam realized it was even prettier than he had remembered and maybe he still wanted it.

"You can have it," Tim explained and it might've been a very cruel joke, but Adam was already reaching out for it. "I don't need it anymore and I figured since you liked it so much, you might want it.

When his skin touched the cold ring, Adam jerked his hand back again. He must've looked like Gollum to them, eyes locked on that stupid ring but like that wannabe Hobbit, Adam couldn't help himself.

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked and although his head hurt and although the only thing he saw was the jewelry, he hadn't touched it again. He was having a good day, Adam realized as he forced his hand away from Tim's, who looked more than just a little worried.

Just how visible was Adam's struggle to him?

"No, I - You see I had a girl a long time ago and I was never ready to get rid of the ring, but now I feel like I can do this. I can finally be open for other people again and I thought why not have step one be to get rid of that thing," Tim waved his hands in surrender and Adam couldn't put his finger on what it was, but he believed him. 

"Don't you want it anymore?" Austin asked. "Tim told me how you two meet. I'm sorry if this isn't okay with you. It was my idea, I didn't mean to make fun of you, I swear!"

"No, it's okay," Adam forced himself to smile again, that light feeling he had earlier identified as 'good' was gone. "I would only sell it again because we need money and I don't think you would want that."

Tim lightly shoved Austin away and then pulled him close to whisper something in his ear. Austin's face brightened up after a frown had taken over his features and when he nodded, he waved Adam goodbye and left to get in the store.

"Would you like a coffee or something?" Tim asked and Adam, who had heard his brother talking about dating and stuff, nodded. He didn't need Chris to get home, he just needed the keys and in any worst case scenario there were three places he would always find Chris at.

°^°

1) A tree in front of Sandra's house, 2) his apartment, 3) the police station, just in case you were wondering.

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